Method and apparatus for multi-language software code generation

ABSTRACT

A method of generating code for a software program in multiple languages by converting input specification files into output code files. The input specification files contain a list of distinctive features of the software program to be generated and are written in a prescribed input language. The input specification files are converted into a set of nodes representing the logical relationship between the distinctive features listed in the input specification files. Output code files are then generated from the set of nodes using external guideline files that contain guidelines for generating code. Output code files are generated in at least two code languages.

The present invention relates to a method and system for generating program code, for example source code and text code describing the source code.

In the design and implementation phase of software programming it is possible to use code generators to facilitate generation of program code. For instance the XWindows graphic system, which is known in the UNIX environment, provides code generators that produce the necessary code for a user interface according to a set of specifications.

In general a code generator extracts information from an input file or specification file and produces an output file, e.g. a source file, that is understandable by a compiler. The compiler then is able to generate from this source file an executable of executable file of machine code. The code generator produces a very large part of the source code to be written. The remaining part, which mostly is the program's logic, has to be written by hand.

Code generation by a way of a code, generator has many advantages. When for example there exists repetitive patterns in the code to be written which must be replicated many times, a code generator can greatly reduce the effort the programmer has to make by reducing the number of lines to be manually written. Another advantage of code generation is that the naming in the software program becomes consistent throughout the entire program. Also consistency between the source code and the corresponding documentation code or documentation text can be greatly improved. Because of the fact that a great part of the program lines to be written is written automatically, design and implementation changes can be implemented within very short time. Also the number of bugs in the produced software code can be reduced.

Prior art code :generators, hereafter named dedicated code generators, are dedicated to one single language. The input to the code generator is in this case a fully prescribed specification file which is a listing of distinctive features which are used to define the specific aspects of the program code to be generated, for example instances, message names, types, attributes, links etc. The code generator generates an output file, for example a source file. The coding rules for conversion of the input file are build into the code generator itself (i.e. hard coded). A code generator dedicated to two languages must have two sets of coding rules hardcoded. This means that the dedicated code generators are not flexible in that both the input language and the output language are fixed and the coding rules have to be hardcoded into the code generator.

The present invention however provides a code generator wherein the language of the specification of the program to be build and the resulting code language are flexibly chosen by specifying external sets of coding rules or guidelines. In this case the specification file can be of an arbitrary format. According to a separate language descriptor the specification file is converted into a input file to the code generator. According to external guidelines the input file is converted into one or more code files, for example a C⁺⁺source code file, a HTML documentation file describing the source code or a Unix makefile.

The present invention therefore relates to a method for generating code for a software program comprising:

specifying one or more input files describing the functionality of the software program according to a prescribed input language;

supplying first and second guidelines to code generator means wherein first and second guidelines describe the first and second rules respectively for conversion of said one or more input files;

supplying the input files to code generator means, wherein the code generator means convert the input files according to the first guidelines into one or more first code files and according to the second guidelines into one or more second code files.

The invention also comprises a method comprising:

supplying first and second language descriptors to interpretation means;

supplying a specification file describing the functionality of the software program to the interpretation means; wherein the interpretation means convert the specification file according to the first language descriptor into a first input file and according to the second language into a second input file.

The present invention also comprises the method for generating code for a software program comprising:

supplying one or more specification files describing the functionality of the software program to interpreter means;

supplying first and second specification language descriptors to interpreter means;

converting by the interpretation means of the specification files according to the first language descriptor into a first input to code generator means and according to the second language descriptor into a second input to code generator means;

supplying first and second guidelines to code generator means wherein first and second guidelines define the first and second rules respectively for conversion of the first and second input respectively;

converting the first input according to the first guidelines into one or more first code files and according to the second guidelines into one or more second code files

converting the second input according to the first guidelines into one or more third code files and according to the second guidelines into one or more fourth code files.

The present invention also relates to a drawing simulation tool of message passing in an object-oriented operating system. This drawing tool allows to describe Message Sequence Charts (or MSC) representing concurrent objects exchanging asynchronous messages.

The present invention also comprises the system which implements the methods mentioned above.

The present invention will now be described by way of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which the like-parts are referred to by like-references, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows schematically a prior art dedicated code generator;

FIG. 2 shows schematically a code generator with external coding rules or guidelines;

FIG. 3 shows schematically a code generator with interpretation means or parser means;

FIG. 4 shows a code generator according to FIG. 3 with two different sets of coding guidelines;

FIG. 5 shows schematically a code generator according to FIG. 3 with two sets of specification language descriptions; and

FIG. 6 shows a preferred embodiment of a system for implementing the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a message sequence chart of a specification file.

FIG. 1 shows a prior art dedicated code generator 2. The input file 1 to the code generator 2 is a text file describing the functionality and features of the software program to be generated. The input file can for example be written in IDL (Interface Definition Language) which is a standard language defined by the OMG (Object Management Group). IDL is a technology-independent syntax describing software components in an object oriented and implementation independent way. Coding rules are build in the code generator. The output file 3 is in this case a C⁺⁺source file which is compiled by a C⁺⁺compiler to machine code which in turn can be executed by the central processing unit of a computer system. As the coding rules that control the conversion from input to output file are hardcoded into the code generator, the code generator can only be used for this combination of input format and the output format, viz. in this case IDL and C⁺⁺respectively. For other combinations of output and input file format a separate code generator has to be provided.

In FIG. 2 a generic code generator 5 according to a preferred embodiment is shown. The guidelines 6 that define the code rules, i.e. all operations that will be performed on the input file 4 to create the necessary output code, are external in the sense that they are not part of the program code of the code generator itself. The guidelines can be comprised in one or more separate files on the hard disk of the computer system. Changing the external guidelines changes the output code files 7 accordingly. Compared to a dedicated code generator the generic code generator with external guidelines provides flexible means for generating from files with a fixed, prescribed input format or definition the desired program code or documentation code.

In FIG. 3 a code generator with external guidelines or coding rules 6 is shown, however also comprising an interpreter or parser 8 that enables the conversion of a specification file 9, containing a listing of distinctive features of the code to be generated, with aid of a specification language, into a set of nodes in memory 10 that is understandable to the generic code generator 5 and forms all logical relationships between the features in the specification file 9. The specification language is described in an external specification language descriptor file 11. Code generator 5 converts the set of nodes in memory 10 from the interpreter 8 into one or more suitable output code files 7, wherein. the format of this output depends on the guidelines 6. The output file 7 is in this case a C⁺⁺source file. The implementation of the generic code generator is independent on the specification language that is described in the external language description file 11. Compared to a dedicated code generator, which comprises the use of a fixed input and output language with hardcoded rules, the generic code generator according to the present invention provides variable input and output languages (viz. specification language descriptions and coding guidelines) with programmable rules. Both specification language description and coding guidelines can be custom-designed.

FIG. 4 shows another preferred embodiment with a specification file 9, a language description file 11, an interpreter 8 and a code generator 5. Instead of one set of external guidelines 6, an additional set of guidelines, for example in external guideline files 13, is provided. The generic code generator generates in this case two sets of codes 7 and 12, for example C⁺⁺source code and Pascal source code or C⁺⁺source code and documentation text code describing the C⁺⁺source code. Changes in the specification of the software program will be translated into changes in the source code file and documentation file accordingly. The generic code generator ensures therefore coherence between the output files, i.e. the documentation code file is consistent with the source code.

FIG. 5 shows still another preferred embodiment with two sets of coding guideline files 6 and 13, a specification language description file 11, an interpreter 8 and a code generator 5. Besides one external set of specification files 9 an additional set of specification files 14 is provided. By specifying the external guideline files 6 and 13 and the external specification language description files 9 and 14 four different output code files 7, 12, 16, 17 are produced for every combination of sets of guidelines and specification language descriptions.

FIG. 6 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of a system in accordance with the present invention, comprising a personal computer or workstation with a central processing unit 20, which is connected through connector 27 to a read only memory 21, a random access memory 22, a network 23, a screen 24, a keyboard 25 and a hard disk 26. The code generator and interpreter software is fetched from the hard disk 26 or network 23, and is (partly) loaded into memory 22. The specification files of the program to be generated by the system are input by an operator with the keyboard 25 or else are present on the hard disk 26 or the network 23. Using the specification language descriptors and guidelines and the interpreter and code generator software, central processing unit 20 processes the specification files to generate a series of output code files. The output code files are stored on the hard disk 26 or are sent over network 23 to an external destination. Hereafter, the generated code can be compiled and linked with manually written code.

An example of an implementation of the embodiment of FIG. 2 is given below. The input file in this case comprises modules, interfaces, attributes, operators and parameters:

module Entertainment{ interface Movie{ void Play (in long startFrame); void stop(); long Where();}; interface Audio{ . . . }; };

This example describes the object interface for the classes Movie and Audio, located in a module entertainment. Objects of this class can receive three incoming messages:

the Play operation has one input parameter of type long, named startFrame;

the Stop operation without parameter;

the Where operation without parameter, returns the current frame.

An Example of a guideline file is the scriptfile given below:

$FOR [modules, mod] The module $VAR [mod.name] $FOR [mod.interfaces,interf] Interface $VAR [interf.name] with the following operations: $FOR [interf.operations,oper] $VAR [oper.name] $ENDFOR[, ] $ENDFOR [and] $ENDFOR []

The resulting output of the code generator according to the above mentioned input file and guideline file is as follows:

The module Entertainment contains:

Interface Movie with the following operations:

Play, Stop, Where

and

Interface, Audio with the following operations:

The guideline file contains literals and statements, wherein literals are simply copied to the output file and statements are interpreted. Since the literals are copied to the output file, the code generator is independent of the generated code. The statements that in these examples are interpreted are as follows:

$VAR [operation.name]

write the name attribute of the operation component to the generated file and

$FOR [module.interfaces,i]

#include “$VAR [i.name].h”

$ENDFOR[ ]

iterate through all the interfaces of a module and print out an “include” line with the interface names. The iteration variable is automatically created and removed after the for loop.

A further embodiment of the present invention relates to providing an emulator for development of object-oriented software e.g. an object-oriented operating system. The behaviour of the software to be developed is simulated by the emulator on a known operating system like UNIX etc. The code generator according to the present invention translates the developed object-oriented software code into program code that runs on UNIX. In the case of development of object-oriented operation systems the drawing tool is able to simulate the synchronous and a-synchronous message passing between the program objects and to local entry mode intantiation of the active program objects. With the MSC drawing tool, the developed object-oriented software can be easily documented.

As an example of a specification file a MSC-text file is shown hereafter.

MSC [15] [15] FS “Opening a file”  ROLE CLIENT p_client  ROLE FS fs IN p_client  SEND p_entry fs OpenFile “fileId, cid” AT fs p_entry  /* Check file existance and access permissions */  DO FileUsageCreation “fileID -> UsageID”  REPLY p_exit pclient p_entry GotUsage “UsageID” p_continue “<contParams>” AT p_client p_exit ENDMSC

MSC stands for Message Sequence Chart which is a drawing that shows how program objects interact with each other, i.e. which messages they pass to each other and in which order. The MSC-text file renders the MSC-drawing of FIG. 7. After the software programmer has tested the MSC and given his approval, the code generator translates the MSC-text, which is used as specification file, into the desired program code files.

As an example of a language description file a grammar rules definition file is shown hereafter.

MDL grammar $mscprogram $toSkip toSkip manyOf $chartoSkip #null #null #null chartoSkip oneOf ‘ ’ ‘\t’ ‘\n’ mscprogram sequence ‘MSC’ xScale=?$int  yScale=?$int project=#id title=#string  $body ‘ENDMSC’ int sequence ‘{’ value=#integer ‘}’ body manyOf $stmt #null #null #null stmt oneOf $in $at $object $do $skip $send $reply $call $return $comment comment sequence text=#comment in sequence ‘IN’ objId=#id at sequence ‘AT’ objId=#id msgId=#id object sequence ‘ROLE’ xPos=?$int class=#id objId=#id do sequence ‘DO’ name=#id text=#string skip sequence ‘SKIP’ deltaY=?$int send sequence ‘SEND’ deltaX=?$int deltaY=?$int msgId=#id objId=#id sendName=#id sendParams=#string reply sequence ‘REPLY’ deltaX=?$int deltaY=?$int msgId=#id objId=#id sendId=#id replyName=#id replyParams=#string contName=#id contParams=#string ?$alsoReplies alsoReplies manyOf $also ‘ALSO’ #null ‘ALSO’ also sequence deltaX=?$int deltaY=?$int msgId=#id objId=#id sendId=#id contName=#id contParams=#string call sequence ‘CALL’ deltaX=?$int deltaY=?$int msgId=#id objId=#id callName=#id callParams=#string return sequence ‘RETURN’ deltaX=?$int deltaY=?$int msgId=#id objId=#id callId=#id replyName=#id replyParams=#string # include statement are not used anymore include sequence ‘INCLUDE’ xPos=?$int file=#pathname name=#id ‘WHERE’ $wClauses wClauses manyOf $wClause ‘{’ ‘}’ ‘,’ wClause oneOf $oClause $cClause $mClause $lClause oClause sequence ‘INSTANCE’ from=#id ‘=’ to=#id cClause sequence ‘CLASS’ from=#id ‘=’ to=#id mClause sequence ‘MESSAGE’ from=#id ‘=’ to=#id lClause sequence ‘LABEL’ from=#id ‘=’ to= #id

As an example of a coding guidelines file a WALK coding file is shown hereafter.

$*[******************************************************************** * * script : MSC.tcl * * This script converts an MSC description into a TCL program. * * copyright : Sony Objective Composer (SOCOM) * * author : andre last update : 19/09/97 * ********************************************************************* * * 12/06/97 Adding CALL and RETURN * * 12/06/97 simplified version - Removing INCLUDE * * 19/09/97 usign IVS_SRC_ROOT environment variable * ********************************************************************* *] $*[-comment class-------] $CLASS [comment] $SCRIPT (toTCL]  COMMENT “$VAR[me.text]” $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*[-object class-------] $CLASS [object] $SCRIPT [toTCL] $ *[static object are translated into OBJECT, dynamic into NEW] $ IF[IsStatic]  set o_$VAR[me.objId] [OBJECT “$VAR[me.objId]” “$VAR[me.class]”] $ ELSE  set o_$VAR[me.objId] [NEW “$VAR[me.objId]” “$VAR[me.class]” $ IF[me.has_xPos] $SET[me.xPos,p]$VAR(p.value]$ELSE 0$ENDIF  ] $ ENDIF $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*[-in class-----------] $CLASS [in] $SCRIPT [toTCL] $ SET[FALSE,IsStatic] IN $[$o_]$VAR[me.objId] “???” $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*[-at class-----------] $CLASS [at] $SCRIPT [toTCL] $ SET[FALSE,IsStatic] AT $[$m_]$VAR[me.msgId] “$VAR[me.msgId]” $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*[-skip class---------] $CLASS [skip] $SCRIPT [toTCL] SKIP $IF(me.has_deltaY] $SET[me.deltaY,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 1$ENDIF $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*(-do class-----------] $CLASS [do] $SCRIPT [toTCL] DO $VAR[me.name] “$VAR[me.text]” $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*[-send class---------] $CLASS [send] $SCRIPT [toTCL] set m_$VAR[me.msgId] [SEND $[$o_]$VAR[me.objId] “$VAR[me.sendName]” “$VAR[me.sendParams]” $IF[me.has_deltaX] $SET[me.deltaX,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 0$ENDIF $IF[me.has_deltaY] $SET[me.deltaY,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 0$ENDIF  ] $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*[-also class---------] $CLASS [also] $SCRIPT [toTCL] set m_$VAR[me.msgId] [ALSO $[$o_]$VAR[me.objId] $*[$]$VAR[me.sendId]  “$VAR[me.contName]” “$VAR[me.contParams]” $IF[me.has_deltaX] $SET[me.deltaX,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 0$ENDIF $IF[me.has_deltaY] $SET[me.deltaY,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 0$ENDIF  ] $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*[-reply class--------] $CLASS.[reply] $SCRIPT [toTCL] set m_$VAR[me.msgId] [REPLY $[$o_]$VAR[me.objId] $[$m_]$VAR[me.sendId]  “$VAR[me.replyName]” “$VAR[me.replyParams]”  “$VAR[me.contName]” “$VAR[me.contParams]” $IF[me.has_deltaX] $SET[me.deltaX,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 1$ENDIF $IF[me.has_deltaY] $SET[me.deltaY,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 1$ENDIF  ] $IF[me.has_AlsoReplies] $ FOR[me.has_AlsoReplies,also] $ ONDO[also,toTCL] $ CR $ ENDFOR[] $ENDIF $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*[-call class---------] $CLASS [call] $SCRIPT [toTCL] set m_$VAR[me.msgId] [CALL $[$o_]$VAR[me.objId] “$VAR(me.callName]” “$VAR[me.callParams]” $IF[me.has_deltaX] $SET[me.deltaX,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 0$ENDIF $IF[me.has_deltaY] $SET[me.deltaY,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 0$ENDIF  ]$CR AT $[$m_]$VAR[me.msgId] “$VAR[me.msgId]” $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*[-return class---------] $CLASS [return] $SCRIPT [toTCL] set m_$VAR[me.msgId] [RETURN $[$o_]$VAR[me.objId] $[$m_]$VAR[me.callId]  “$VAR[me.replyName]” “$VAR[me.replyParams]” $IF[me.has_deltaX] $SET[me.deltaX,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 0$ENDIF $IF[me.has_deltaY] $SET[me.deltaY,d]$VAR[d.value]$ELSE 0$ENDIF  ]$CR BACK $[$m_]$VAR[me.msgId] $VAR[me.msgId]” $ENDSCRIPT $ENDCLASS $*[-main program--------] $GETENV[IVS_SRC_ROOT,tclFile] $APPENDSTRING[“/languages/msc/msc.tcl”,tclFile] $INSERTVAR[tclFile]$CR $CR Init$CR SCALE $IF[top.has_xScale] $SET[top.xScale,s]$VAR[s.value]$ELSE 100$ENDIF $IF[top.has_yScale] $SET[top.yScale,s]$VAR[s.value]$ELSE 20$ENDIF $CR TITLE “$VAR[top.project]” “$VAR[top.title]” “$ASCTIME ”$CR $ SET[TRUE,IsStatic] $ FOR[top.body,stmt] $ ONDO[stmt,toTCL] $ CR $ENDFOR[] Exit

As an example of a program code file the following TCL file is shown hereafter.

proc Init {} { global argv psfile verbose origin set psfile “ ” set origin “ ” set verbose 0 set version [info tclversion] for {set c 0} {$c < [llength $argv]} {incr c} { set arg [lindex $argv $c] set type [string range $arg 0 1] if ( $type == “-p”) { if { $version == “7.5” } { set psfile [string range $arg 2 [string length $arg]] } } if { $type == “-o”} { set origin [string range $arg 2 [string length $arg]] if { [string index $origin 0] != “/”} { set path [pwd] append path “/” append path $origin set origin $path } } if { $arg == “-notes”} { set verbose 1 } } global nof_notes notesT notesC set nof_notes 0 global lbEntryCount set lbEntryCount 0 global commentCount set commentCount 0 global nof_objects set nof_objects 0 global next_object set next_object 0 global nof_messages set nof_messages 0 global startY set startY 0 global smallFont set smallFont “-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--12-120-75-75-p-67-iso8859-1” global largeFont set largeFont “-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--14-140-75-75-p-77-iso8859-1” listbox .lb canvas .c -bg bisque -width 800 -height 800 #  image create photo .c.logo_image -file “ivs_logo.gif” } proc SCALE {scaleX scaleY} { global xgrid ygrid set xgrid $scaleX set ygrid $scaleY global currX currY set currX [expr $xgrid / 2] set currY [expr $ygrid * 5] global currObj objects set currObj −1 for {set o 0} {$o < 10} { incr o 1} { set objects($o) 0 } } proc Exit {} { global psfile verbose global lbEntryCount smallFont global nof_objects objects global currX currY xgrid ygrid global nof_notes notesT notesC if {$lbEntrycount != 0} { pack .lb -side bottom return } .c create line [expr $currX − 10 ] $currY [expr $currX + 10] $currY \ -fill blue -width 3 set maxY 0 for {set o 0} {$o < 10} { incr o 1} { if {$objects($o) > $maxY} { set maxY $objects($o) } } incr maxY $ygrid for {set o 0} {$o < 10} { incr o 1} { if {$objects($o) > 0} { set x [expr [expr $o * $xgrid] + $xgrid] .c create line $x $objects($o) $x $maxY -fill gray .c create line [expr $x − 20]$maxY [expr $x + 20] $maxY - width 2 } } incr maxY $ygiid set endDrawY $maxY .c create line 0 $maxY 800 $maxY -fill gray -width 3 if { $verbose } {  for {set n 0} {$n < $nof_notes} {incr n} { set text $notesT($n) set t [.c create text [expr $xgrid / 4] $maxY -text $text - font $smallFont -fill $notesC($n)] set coord [.c bbox $t] set dy [expr [lindex $coord 3] − [lindex $coord 1]] .c move $t [expr [expr [lindex $coord 2] − [lindex $coord0]] / 2] [expr $dy /2] incr maxY $dy if { [expr $maxY % 800] > [expr 800 − $ygrid] } { incr maxY $ygrid } incr maxY [expr $ygrid /4] }  }  if { $maxY > 800 } { set pageTop 800 set pageNb 1 set pageCount [expr 1 + [expr [expr $maxY − 1] / 800 ]] while { $pageNb <= $pageCount } { set t “page ” append t $pageNb append t “ of ” append t $pageCount drawText 700 $pageTop $t $smallFont red biscue 0 −1 .c create line 0 $pageTop 800 $pageTop -fill red -width 1 incr pageTop 800 incr pageNb } set maxY [expr $pageCount * 800] .c configure -scrollregion [list 0 0 800 $maxY] .c configure -yscrollcommand “.scrolly set” #  scrollbar .scrollx -command “.c xview” -orient horizontal scrollbar .scrolly -command “.c yview” pack .scrolly -side right -fill y } # pack .scrollx -side bottom -fill x set text “none” pack .c -side top # pack .lb -side bottom if { $psfile != “” } { # generate a postscript file update incr maxY $ygrid set pageTop 0 set pageCount 0 while { $pageTop < $maxY } {  set file $psfile append file $pageCount .c postscript -height 800 -width 800 -y $pageTop -file $file -colormode gray incr pageTop 800 incr pageCount 1 } } } proc drawText {x y t f fc bc b w} { set t [.c create text $x $y -text $t -font $f -fill $fc] set coord [.c bbox $t] set dy [expr [expr [lindex $coord 3] − [lindex $coord 1]] /2] if {$w != 0} { .c move $t 0 [expr $w * $dy] } set coord [.c bbox $t] set left [expr [lindex $coord 0] − $b] set top [expr [lindex $coord 1] − $b] set right [expr [lindex $coord 2] + $b] set bottom [expr [lindex $coord 3] + $b] if {$b !=0} { .c create rectangle $left $top $right $bottom -fill $bc -outline $fc .c raise $t } return $t } proc drawOvalText {x y text f fc bc b w} { set t [.c create text $x $y -text $text -font $f -fill $fc] set coord [.c bbox $t] set dy [expr [expr [lindex $coord 3] − [lindex $coord 1]] /2] if {$w != 0} { .c move $t 0 [expr $w * $dy] } set coord [.c bbox $t] set left [expr [lindex $coord 0] − $b] set top [expr [lindex $coord 1] − $b] set right [expr [lindex $coord 2] + $b] set bottom [expr [lindex $coord 3] + $b] if {$b !=0} { set oval [.c create oval $left $top $right $bottom -fill $bc -outline $fc] .c raise $t } return $t } proc BindText {x y text fc b} { global largeFont set bindText [.c create text $x $y -text $text -font $largeFont -fill $fc] set coord [.c bbox $bindText] set left [lindex $coord 0] set top [lindex $coord 1] set right [lindex $coord 2] set bottom [lindex $coord 3] set width 800 set height 800 #move text if it exceeds canvas borders if {$left < 0} { .c move $bindText [expr 0 − $left] 0 set left 0 } if {$right > $width} { .c move $bindText [expr $width − $right] 0 set right $width } if {$top < 0} { .c move $bindText 0 [expr 0 − $top] set top 0 } if {$bottom > $height} { .c move $bindText 0 [expr $height − $bottom] set bottom $height } return $bindText } proc BindMsgPress {class msg params x y fc} { global bindText bindRect set text $msg append text “(” append text $params append text “)” set b 5 set bindText [BindText $x $y $text $fc $b] set coord [.c bbox $bindText] set left [expr [lindex $coord 0] − $b] set top [expr [lindex $coord 1] − $b] set right [expr [lindex $coord 2] + $b] set bottom [expr [lindex $coord 3] + $b] if {$b !=0} { set bindRect [.c create rectangle $left $top $right $bottom -fill lightgray ] .c raise $bindText } } proc BindMSCPress {msc comment x y fc} { global bindText bindRect set text $msc append text $comment set b 5 set bindText [BindText $x $y $text $fc $b] set coord [.c bbox $bindText] set left [expr [lindex $coord 0] − $b] set top [expr [lindex $coord 1] − $b] set right [expr [lindex $coord 2] + $b] set bottom [expr [lindex $coord 3] + $b] if {$b !=0} { set bindRect [.c create rectangle $left $top $right $bottom -fill lightgray ] .c raise $bindText } } proc BindDoPress { name comment x y fc} { global bindText bindRect largeFont set text $name append text “ : ” append text $comment set b 5 set bindText [BindText $x $y $text $fc $b] set coord [.c bbox $bindText] set left [expr [lindex $coord 0] − $b] set top [expr [lindex $coord 1] − $b] set right [expr [lindex $coord 2] + $b] set bottom [expr [lindex $coord 3] + $b] if {$b !=0} { set bindRect [.c create oval $left $top $right $bottom -fill lightgray ] .c raise $bindText } } proc BindRelease {} { global bindText bindRect .c delete $bindText .c delete $bindRect } proc drawObject {x y nm cl} { global class objects nof_objects next_object global smallFont xgrid ygrid set xcenter  [expr [expr $x + 1] * $xgrid] drawText $xcenter $y $cl $smallFont red bisque 0 −2 drawText $xcenter $y $nm $smallFont blue lightgray 2 0 set objects($x) $y set class($x) $cl if { $x == $next_object } { incr next_object } incr nof_objects } proc addMessage {fromX toX toY toObj fromY} { global nof_messages messages currX set msg_index $nof_messages set messages($msg_index,0) $fromX set messages($msg_index,1) $toX if {$currX < $toX} { set messages($msg_index,2) 20 } else { set messages($msg_index,2) −20 } set messages($msg_index,3) $toY set messages($msg_index,4) $toObj set messages($msg_index,5) $fromY incr nof_messages return $msg_index } proc ADDNOTE {text color} { global nof_notes notesT notesC set notesT($nof_notes) “* ” append notesT($nof_notes) $text set notesC($nof_notes) $color incr nof_notes } proc TITLE {nm comment date} { global xgrid ygrid global largeFont smallFont origin set bot [expr $ygrid * 2] set right 800 drawText 100 $ygrid $nm $largeFont black black 0 0 drawText 400 [expr $ygrid / 2] $comment $largeFont black black 0 0 drawText 400 [expr [expr $ygrid * 3] / 2] $origin $smallFont indianred indianred 0 0 drawText 700 $ygrid $date $smallFont black black 0 0 .c create line 0 $bot $right $bot -fill gray -width 5 set tx 200 .c create line $tx 0 $tx $bot -fill gray -width 3 set tx 600 .c create line $tx 0 $tx $bot -fill gray -width 3 } proc OBJECT {nm cl} { global xgrid ygrid next_object Set index $next_object drawObject $index [expr 4 * $ygrid] $nm $cl return $index } proc drawMSC {x y nm cl} { global class objects nof_objects next_object smallFont global xgrid ygrid xMSC yMSC MSCText set xcenter  [expr [expr $x + 1] * $xgrid] set y [expr $y + $ygrid] set xMSC $xcenter set yMSC $y set MSCText [drawText $xcenter $y $nm $smallFont black lightgray 2 −1] .c bind $MSCText <Any-ButtonPress> “BindMSCPress \“$mn\” \“$cl\” $xMSC $yMSC black” .c bind $MSCText <Any-ButtonRelease> “BindRelease ” set objects($x) $y set class($x) $nm if { $x == $next_object } { incr next_object } incr nof_objects } proc BEGIN_MSC {nm cl x} { global xgrid ygrid next_object currY if {$x == 0} { set index $next_object } else { set index $x } set last [string last “/” $nm ] if {$last != −1} { incr last set len [string length $nm] set nm [string range $nm $last $len ] } drawMSC $index $currY $nm $cl return $index } proc END_MSC { } { global xMSC yMSC xgrid ygrid currY MSCText set left [expr $xMSC − [expr $xgrid / 2] ] set right [expr $xMSC + [expr $xgrid / 2] ] set top $yMSC set bottom $currY set border [.c create rectangle $left $top $right $bottom -outline black -width 6] .c create rectangle $left $top $right $bottom -outline gray -width 5 .c raise $MSCText $border } proc NEW {nm cl x} { global xgrid ygrid currX currY next_object if {$x == 0} { set x $next_object } drawObject $x $currY $nm $cl SKIP 1 set toX [expr [expr $x + 1] * $xgrid] .c create line $currX $currY $toX $currY -arrow last set objects($x) $currY return $x } proc SEND {obj name params delta reserve} { global currX currY ygrid messages nof_messages startY global class objects smallFont xgrid ygrid SKIP 1 set toX [expr [expr $obj + 1] * $xgrid] set toY $currY set X $toX if {$currY <= $objects{$obj}} { set toY $objects($obj) if {$delta == 0} { set delta 1 } } if {$delta != 0} { incr toY [expr $reserve * $ygrid] } set msg [addMessage $currX $toX $toY $obj $currY] if {$delta == 0} { .c create line $currX $currY $toX $currY -fill blue -arrow last -width 2 } else { set X [expr $toX - [expr $delta * $messages($msg.2) ] ] .c create line $currX $currY $X $currY -fill blue -width 2 .c create line $X $currY $X $toY -fill blue -width 2 .c create line $toX $toY $X $toY -fill blue -arrow first - width 2 } set textX [expr [expr $currX + $X] / 2] set t [drawText $textX $currY $name $smallFont blue blue 0 −1] .c bind $t <Any-ButtonPress> “BindMsgPress $class($obj) \“$name\” \“$params\” $textX $currY blue” .c bind $t <Any-ButtonRelease> “BindRelease ” set note “Send: ” append note $name append note “(” append note $params append note “)” ADDNOTE $note blue return $msg } proc CALL {obj name params delta reserve} { global currX currY ygrid messages nof_messages startY global class objects smallFont xgrid ygrid SKIP 1 set toX [expr [expr $obj + 1] * $xgrid] set toY $currY set X $toX if {$currY <= $objects($obj)} { set toY $objects($obj) if {$delta == 0} { set delta 1 } } if {$delta != 0} { incr toY [expr $reserve * $ygrid] } set msg [addMessage $currX $toX $toY $obj $currY] if {$delta == 0} { .c create line $currX $currY $toX $currY -fill blue -arrow last -width 2 } else { set X [expr $toX − [expr $delta * $messages($msg,2) ] ] .c create line $currX $currY $X $currY -fill blue -width 2 .c create line $X $currY $X $toY -fill blue -width 2 .c create line $toX $toY $X $toY -fill blue -arrow first - width 2 } set textX [expr [expr $currX + $X] / 2] set t [drawText $textX $currY $name $smallFont blue blue 0 −1] .c bind $t <Any-ButtonPress> “BindMsgPress $class($obj) \“$name\” \“$params\” $textX $currY blue” .c bind $t <Any-ButtonRelease> “BindRelease ” set note “Call: ” append note $name append note “(” append note $params append note “)” ADDNOTE $note blue return $msg } proc atObject {msg name color w a} { global currX currY messages startY global objects currObj smallFont xgrid ygrid if ($currObj != −1} { .c create line [expr $currX − 10 ] $currY [expr $currX + 10] $currY \ -fill blue -width 3 } set currX $messages($msg,1) set currY $messages($msg,3) set currObj $messages($msg,4) .c create line $currX $objects($currObj)  $currX $currY -fill $color - width $w -arrow $a drawText $currX $currY $name $smallFont $color black 0 −1 set startY $currY if {$objects($currObj) != 0} { set objects($currObj) $currY } } proc AT {msg name} { atObject $msg $name gray 1 none } proc BACK {msg name} { atObject $msg $name blue 1 none } proc IN {obj name} { global currX currY messages startY objects currObj smallFont xgrid ygrid if {$currObj == −1} { set currObj $obj set currX [expr [expr $obj + 1] * $xgrid] set startY [expr $currY + $ygrid] .c create line $currX $currY $currX $startY -fill blue -width 1 -arrow last set currY $startY } if {$objects($currobj) != 0} { set objects($currObj) $currY } } proc DO {name text} { global currY currX smallFont startY objects currObj xgrid ygrid SKIP 1 set t [drawOvalText $currX $currY $name $smallFont darkgreen lightgray 5 1] set coord [.c bbox $t] incr currY [expr [lindex $coord 3] − [lindex $coord 1]] incr currY 5 .c bind $t <Any-ButtonPress> “BindDoPress  \“$name\” \“$text\” $currX $currY darkgreen” .c bind $t <Any-ButtonRelease> “BindRelease ” set startY $currY if {$objects($currObj) != 0} { set objects($currObj) $currY } set note “Do: ” append note $name append note “(” append note $text append note “)” ADDNOTE $note darkgreen } proc SKIP {delta} { global currX currY startY currObj objects xgrid ygrid incr currY [expr $ygrid * $delta] if {$currObj != −1} { .c create line $currX $startY $currX $currY -width 3 -fill blue if {$objects($currObj) != 0} { set objects($currObj) $currY } } } proc REPLY {obj msg reply replyPar cont contPar delta reserve} { global currX currY messages nof_messages global startY class objects currObj smallFont xgrid ygrid SKIP 1 set t (drawText $currX $currY $reply $smallFont red gray 2 1] .c bind $t <Any-ButtonPress> “BindMsgPress $class($obj) \“$reply\” \“$replyPar\” $currX $currY red” .c bind $t <Any-ButtonRelease> “BindRelease ” set coord [.c bbox $t] incr currY [expr [lindex $coord 3] − [lindex $coord 1]] incr currY 2 set startY $currY set text “Reply: ” append text $reply append text “(” append text $replyPar append text “)” ADDNOTE $text red return [ALSO $obj $msg $cont $contPar $delta $reserve 0] } proc RETURN {obj msg reply replyPar delta reserve} { global currX currY messages nof_messages global startY class objects currObj smallFont xgrjd ygrid SKIP 1 set t [drawText $currX $currY $reply $smallFont red gray 2 1] .c bind $t <Any-ButtonPress> “BindMsgPress $class($obj) \“$reply\” \“$replyPar\” $currX $currY red” .c bind $t <Any-ButtonRelease> “BindRelease ” set coord [.c bbox $t] incr currY [expr [lindex $coord 3] − [lindex $coord 1]] incr currY 2 set startY $currY set text “Return: ” append text $reply append text “(” append text $replyPar append text “)” ADDNOTE $text red set toX [expr [expr $obj + 1] * $xgrid] set X [expr $messages($msg,0) + [expr $delta * $messages($msg,2) ] ] .c create line $currX $currY $X $currY -fill blue -arrow last -width 2 set msg_index [addMessage $currX $X $currY $obj $currY] return $msg_index } proc ALSO {obj msg cont contPar delta reserve skip} { global currX currY messages nof_messages global startY class objects currObj smallFont xgrid ygrid  SKIP $skip set toX [expr [expr $obj + 1] * $xgrid] set X [expr $messages($msg,0) + [expr $delta * $messages($msg,2) ] ] .c create line $currX $currY $X $currY -fill red -arrow last -width 2 if {$currY <= $objects($obj)} { set toY $objects($obj) } else { set toY $currY } if ($delta != 0} { incr toY [expr $reserve * $ygrid] } .c create oval [expr $X − 2] [expr $messages($msg,5) − 2] \ [expr $X + 2] [expr $messages($msg,5) + 2] -fill purple .c create line $X $messages($msg,5) $X $toY -fill purple -width 2 .c create line $toX $toY $X $toY -arrow first -fill purple -width 2 set textY $toY set textX $X set t [drawText $textX $textY $cont $smallFont purple purple 0 1] .c bind $t <Any-ButtonPress> “BindMsgPress $class($obj) \“$cont\” \“$contPar\” $textX $textY purple” .c bind $t <Any-ButtonRelease> “BindRelease ” set msg_index [addMessage $currX $toX $toY $obj $currY] if {$objects($currObj) != 0} { incr objects($currObj) $ygrid } set note “Cont: ” append note $cont append note “(” append note $contPar append note “)” ADDNOTE $note purple return $msg_index } proc COMMENT {text} { global currX currY smallFont commentCount set t [drawText [expr $currX − 10] $currY $commentCount $smallFont gold gray 1 −1] SKIP 1 set note “Note ” append note $commentCount append note “: ” append note $text ADDNOTE $note black incr commentCount } proc ERROR {text} { global lbEntryCount incr lbEntryCount .lb insert end $text } Init SCALE 150 15 TITLE “FS” “Opening a file” “Wed Nov 12 15:32:42 1997 ”  set o_p_client [OBJECT “p_client” “CLIENT”]  set o_fs [OBJECT “fs” “FS”] IN $o_p_client “???” set m_p_entry [SEND $o_fs “OpenFile” “fileId, cid” 0 0 ] AT $m_p_entry “p_entry”  COMMENT “ check file existence anc access permissions ” DO FileUsageCreation “fileID−> UsageID” set m_p_exit [REPLY $o_p_client $m_p_entry “GotUsage” “UsageID” “p_continue” “<contParams>” 1 1 ] AT $m_p_exit “p_exit” Exit 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of generating code for a software program, comprising the steps of: converting input specification files into a set of nodes using an interpreter and specification language description files; said input specification files containing a list of distinctive features of the software program to be generated and being written in a prescribed input language; said specification language description files describing at least one specification language; said set of nodes forming the logical relationship between the distinctive features listed in the input specification files as interpreted by the at least one specification language described in the specification language description files; storing said set of nodes in a memory; and generating output code files from said set of nodes stored in said memory using external guideline files containing guidelines for generating code from the nodes in at least two code languages; said output code files being generated in said at least two code languages.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said output code files for each code language comprise a source code file and a documentation code file.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said specification language description files describe two specification languages; said set of nodes forming the logical relationship between the distinctive features listed in the input specification files as interpreted by both specification languages; and output code files being generated in each code language for both specification languages.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said prescribed input language for said input specification files is interface definition language.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said specification language description files are message sequence chart files.
 6. A code generating apparatus for generating code for a software program, comprising: an interpreter for converting input specification files into a set of nodes using specification language description files; said input specification files containing a list of distinctive features of the software program to be generated and being written in a prescribed input language; said specification language description files describing at least one specification language; said set of nodes forming the logical relationship between the distinctive features listed in the input specification files as interpreted by the at least one specification language described in the specification language description files; a memory for storing said set of nodes output from said interpreter; and a generic code generator for generating output code files from said set of nodes stored in said memory means using external guideline files containing guidelines for generating code from the nodes in at least two code languages; said output code files being generated in said at least two code languages.
 7. The code generating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said output code files for each code language comprise a source code file and a documentation code file.
 8. The code generating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said specification language description files describe two specification languages; said set of nodes forming the logical relationship between the distinctive features listed in the input specification files as interpreted by both specification languages; and output code files being generated in each code language for both specification languages.
 9. The code generating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said prescribed input language for said input specification files is interface definition language.
 10. The code generating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said specification language description files are message sequence chart files. 